Canadian Immigrant2016-12-09T21:40:08Zhttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/feed/atomWordPressMargaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=348492016-12-09T21:38:53Z2016-12-09T21:38:25Z

Illustration by Ainsley Ashby-Snyder

Enjoy all the season has to offer with some fun in the snow

The temperature’s dropping, the snow’s piling up and you and your family are getting restless — winter’s around the corner. However, snowy or inclement weather doesn’t mean you have to spend the season being bored! There’s plenty to see and do — both indoors and outdoors — this winter that will help you and your family get through the long evenings, spend quality time together and immerse you in your community.

Let’s start with outdoor activities …

Tobogganing

This is a favourite Canadian pastime. After every major snowfall, you’ll notice your neighbours and their children spending heading out to the nearest hill with toboggans in hand. You can join in the fun — toboggans, a.k.a sleds, are used for riding down snow-covered hills for amusement — are inexpensive and a great means of physical activity the whole family can enjoy. Bigger toboggan trails can be found at local mountains, but for smaller kids, even a small hill is just as fun.

Skating

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to skating, even if you’ve never put on a pair of blades before. Many local community centres have skate rinks that welcome all participants for public skates and lessons. They also offer equipment rentals so no need to invest in your own right away. There might also be some outdoor skating opportunities in your area, and what could be more Canadian than skating under a star-filled night?

Skiing and snowboarding

Downhill and cross-country skiing and snowboarding do involve more skill, but are both great sports you may want to consider taking up if you’re close to a local ski hill. Again you can rent most of the equipment needed, but you will probably have to invest in your own ski clothes to stay warm. And lessons are really a must if you want to stay safe. All in all, skiing is an expensive outing, but rushing down a hill in deep powder can be quite exhilarating.

Playing in the snow

This one’s fun, free and you can do it anytime! After a snowfall, get outside with your children and make snowmen, have a snowball fight or make snow angels — it’s a great activity that Canadian families love to do — plus, the memories you’ll make with your children will be well worth facing a bit of cold weather. Don’t forget to bundle up in warm clothing — and to make hot chocolate and cookies afterward.

Checking out seasonal decorations

This is another free activity that is enjoyable, easy and everyone in the family can take part in. Go for a walk in your neighbourhood and enjoy the festive lights and decorations that adorn the houses on your block. See if you and your family can spot the best house and get some ideas of how to decorate your own home, too.

Games night

This is a classic Canadian family pastime — set aside one night every week where you and your family play your favourite card or board games together. This will help pass the time and you’ll really enjoy the interaction with your children. You can also choose board games that can help with your English skills, such as Scrabble, or Canadian history knowledge, such as Trivial Pursuit.

Arts and crafts

A fun activity for younger and older family members alike is arts and crafts. You can make seasonal decorations for your home, take up knitting, try your hand at painting or any other creative pursuit you’ve been meaning to try out. Winter is a great time to get crafty — you’ll feel that you’ve spent your time productively and it will help fill those evenings that are too cold for outdoor excursions.

Dinner and a movie night

Another great way you and your family can spend a stormy evening in is by enjoying a home-cooked meal and watching a classic winter or holiday movie together. From It’s a Wonderful Life to How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, there are lots of classic titles you and your children can enjoy that are traditional favourites.

]]>0Margaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=348392016-12-09T21:40:08Z2016-12-08T21:11:45ZEnjoy all the season has to offer while staying warm

Every new immigrant has to get through it: that first Canadian winter. Temperatures well below freezing, snow blizzards and high winds can all seem daunting — if not downright terrifying — but it doesn’t have to be! Surviving your first winter in Canada can be an exciting, fun and adventurous experience.

The key is to prepare, be educated about safety and staying warm, and take advantage of all the highlights the season has to offer, from sports to events and the beauty that you’ll witness during your first true snowfall.

Part 1 of this series is all about keeping warm. Here is what the whole series will cover, one every day for the next five days:

Keeping warm

Seasonal fun

Staying healthy in cold and flu season

Preparing your home

Preparing your car

Not-to-be missed winter festivals

Bundle up

When it comes to braving your first Canadian winter, there’s some dressing guidelines you’ll want to keep in mind for you and your family during both milder and colder days. Let’s have a look at the best articles of clothing to wear in winter weather …

From left to right: Senators Thanh Hai Ngo, Jim Munson and Salma Ataullahjan present the results of an eight-month Senate study of the federal government’s Syrian-refugee resettlement program. Photo by SenCa

The Senate Committee on Human Rights has released its report Finding Refuge in Canada: A Syrian Resettlement Story. The committee comprising of senators Jim Munson, Salma Ataullahjan and Thanh Hai Ngo had been studying the integration of newly-arrived refugees, as well as the challenges faced by various levels of government, by private sponsors and by non-government organizations that provide services to refugees.

Some of the immediate challenges identified included language barriers which prevent many otherwise qualified Syrians from getting jobs, lack of childcare that might hinder refugees, particularly women from taking language classes as well as mental health issues that may arise from the trauma that refugees experienced in Syria.

Financial worries also pose a major difficulty to refugee families and add to their stress and threaten to affect their mental well-being. Some refugees received travel loans from the federal government to get to Canada, which must be repaid — and with interest. The committee also offered recommendations to address these concerns. Some of them included:

Funding for language classes that include childcare facilities so all refugees can learn English or French.

The Bahls deliver food to seniors in Edmonton with their franchise Heart to Home Meals.

In a difficult job market, many people turn to entrepreneurship. That’s what Edmonton couple Chetan and Roshni Bahl did this summer, three years after immigrating to Canada with their infant son. Both Chetan and Roshni have backgrounds in hospitality — the Indian-born couple met while studying hotel management at the prestigious Shannon College in Ireland — and were hopeful about the opportunities they would find in Canada.

Moving to Edmonton, Alberta

“In 2012, when we were looking at coming into Canada, bigger cities like Toronto and Vancouver were obvious choices, but when I was looking at job websites, I saw that Alberta had 7,000 jobs altogether, whereas Toronto and Vancouver only had a few hundred,” says Chetan.

They chose Edmonton, and Chetan found work quickly as a restaurant manager, while Roshni stayed at home to care for their son. She started working part time at a hotel when he turned three, but, with the Alberta economy struggling, the couple decided to start their own business. After some research, they signed up as franchisees with Heart to Home Meals, a frozen meal service that caters to seniors who live independently.

Aging population sparks business idea

The Bahls saw the entrepreneurial potential in the idea because of the aging seniors demographic in Canada, combined with their own background in hospitality. “Food and customer service have always been so ingrained into our lives, and this opportunity to bring this delivery service to the seniors of Edmonton is very much aligned with our core values,” says Chetan.

They believe in the importance of taking care of extended and senior family members — a family value that was part of their upbringings in India. “Seniors are such an important part of family. I grew up in a joint family in India, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunt and uncle — 14 people in one house!” says Chetan. “It’s so hard to see how isolated seniors can get. When we go and do the deliveries, we do small chats. They wait every week for the driver to come so they can have someone to talk to.”

“We have also come to experience how difficult and cold the winters can be here,” says Roshni, “so we hope this service can alleviate any challenges for seniors, especially those with mobility issues.”

Although their business is only a few months old, Roshni adds, “It’s going great. We doubled our sales in just the fourth week. The people ringing us are very happy.”

Heart to Home Meals franchise

Being part of a franchise company has made their entrepreneurial dreams an easy transition. “Restaurants and food businesses are very difficult to get financing. Edmonton once upon a time had so many restaurants; they close every day. But when we described our franchise business to the banks, they were excited,” says Roshni.

The nutritionally balanced meals are prepared at the company’s plant in Brampton, Ontario, and are frozen and shipped to franchisees like the Bahls, who then deliver it to their clients. Clients can pick from a menu of 200+ items, which also accommodates diabetic and gluten-free meals. There are no commitments, and the prices are affordable (soups are $2, meals are $4.95 to $8).

The Bahls strongly believe in the Heart to Home Meals concept and encourage other immigrants to find their own passion in business. “If you have a nice product and believe in it, it will work,” says Roshni.

]]>0Margaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=348242016-12-08T08:06:02Z2016-12-08T08:06:02ZLiving without a budget is like travelling to a destination without a map. While both are possible, you are likely wasting time and gas without a map, and wasting money without a budget.

Budget is not a dirty word; it is a rather liberating one. It magnifies the buying power of your hard-earned money, and is a great way to track your cash flow to help achieve your future goals. It is actually telling the money where to go instead of wondering where it all went at the end of the month.

Budget benefits

Budgeting your money brings you lot of advantages. It helps you to:

avoid overspending

keep your credit score in check

avoid getting into consumer debt cycle

take control of your life

build your savings.

Simply put, budgeting means that you have a way to keep your spending within the limits of your income, and a way to determine how much money you need for the things you want in life.

Understanding income and expenses

If you want to know how much money you need, add up all the money you spent in the past year for rent, gas, groceries and so on (including interest on your credit cards and other bank account fees), and divide it by 52 weeks. The result is your weekly budget. This is the estimated amount of income you need to bring in every week to meet your necessary expenses, which does not even include savings or financial goals.

Attaining such financial goals should be part of your budget as well. For example, if you want to save $20,000 for a down payment for a house in four years from now, determine how much you need to save every week to make that happen — divide $20,000 by 208 weeks, which will be $96 per week.

Financial clarity

Having a sense of financial clarity is important for every decision you make in life, so take control of your money — and stress! —with a budget. Then monitor it every three months to reduce any wasteful expenditures or to adapt it to changing circumstances. Living below your means by the way of budgeting and investing the money you save is incredibly powerful and will help you to achieve your financial dreams.

Gokul Jayapal has a doctorate in biological sciences and lives in Toronto. He is an investment junkie who achieved financial freedom by persistence, frugal living and intelligent investing. He pursues his passion of investing in stocks and trades currencies and options. Reach him at gokultoronto@yahoo.ca.

]]>0Margaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=348222016-12-08T08:00:11Z2016-12-08T08:00:11ZMore spousal sponsorships will be processed in 2017, and faster, too.

Earlier this year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began a concerted effort to reduce processing times, which have increased due to increased demand: in 2015 alone, nearly 70,000 applicants applied through spousal sponsorship but there was only space for 48,000 people to be admitted to Canada that year. This led to a longer wait for applicants and processing times increased. At the start of 2016, processing times were an average of 26 months for in-Canada applications, and 18 months for applications made outside Canada.

Improvements have already been made to these long waits: from the start of 2016 to the fall, processing times were reduced by 15 per cent for in-Canada applications and just over 10 per cent for applications outside Canada.

“We have listened to Canadians and are delivering results. Bringing families together makes for a stronger Canada. Canadians who marry someone from abroad shouldn’t have to wait for years to have them immigrate or be left with uncertainty in terms of their ability to stay,” says John McCallum, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship. “What we’re announcing is a more efficient, more considerate process to reunite families.”

To keep improving processing times, IRCC will not only increase the levels of sponsorships in 2017 to 64,000 spouses and dependants in 2017, but is also targeting to process applications in 12 months. In addition, IRCC has simplified the application kit. Available on Dec. 15, 2016, the new kit is easier to use and understand. There will also now be only one kit, regardless if you are applying from within or outside Canada.

Since some applicants may have already started filling out their application using the current kit, IRCC will continue to accept new applications using the current kit only until Jan. 31, 2017. After this date, only applications using the new kit will be accepted.

To help clients through the application process, a brand new “Basic Guide” has been developed, which summarizes the applications process and gives clients a clear explanation of what they need to do to apply.

Immigration officials said they hoped to clear all existing applications by the end of 2017 with the expanded quota, additional staffing resources and a streamlined process, according to the Toronto Star.

Despite the streamlined process, officials said full criminal, security and medical screening will continue to be in place.

]]>0Margaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=348072016-12-06T19:01:21Z2016-12-06T19:01:21ZDec. 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released this statement today. “Twenty-seven years ago today, 14 young women were murdered at l’École Polytechnique de Montréal simply because they were women.

“On this somber anniversary, let us reflect on what Canadians — women, men and youth — can do to rid the country and the planet of the scourges of misogyny and gender-based violence.

“The statistics on violence against girls and women are unacceptable. Far too many girls and women, here in Canada and around the world, suffer physical and psychological harm at the hands of others — often people they love and trust.”

According to the federal Status of Women department #ActionsMatter campaign, “to end violence against women and girls, we must challenge the culture that allows it to thrive. Once you recognize the connection between sexism and misogyny in our culture and violence against women and girls, you have the power to change it.

“You have the power to say ‘no’ to casual sexism and to stand up for women and girls. It can be as simple as choosing not to consume sexist media or as important as explaining the concept of consent to your children.”

“On this day — and every day — we recommit ourselves to finding solutions that help prevent future acts of violence,” states Trudeau. “Men and boys are a vital part of the solution to change attitudes and behaviours that allow for this violence to exist. There must be zero tolerance for violence against women, and only with everyone’s support can we build a Canada that is safe for all.”

The Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times: Italian Canadian Experiences During World War II exhibit at Pier 21.

The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax is presenting a new temporary exhibit that commemorates the hundreds of Italian Canadians sent to internment camps and prisons during the Second World War. Called Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times: Italian Canadian Experiences During World War II, this exhibit draws from a series of oral histories collected between 2010 and 2012.

On June 10, 1940, Italy declared war on Great Britain and her allies; in reaction, the Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King declared as “enemy aliens” an estimated 31,000 Italian-Canadians considered a threat to the safety of Canada.

Those considered most dangerous, around 600, were sent to three internment camps in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick for a period of up to five years. Though lives were disrupted and reputations damaged, not one internee would be officially charged with a crime in a court of law.

Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times: Italian Canadian Experiences During World War II conveys the personal stories of a cross-section of Italian-Canadians, including internees and their families, neighbours, and fellow community members, and helps demonstrate the varied and far-reaching effects of that period of time.

“Exhibits like this are important because they help shine a light on some of the darker parts of our history and allow us to learn from past events,” says Marie Chapman, CEO, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times will be shown at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in the Ralph and Rose Chiodo Gallery foyer until March 12, 2017.

It was only in the safe haven of Canada that Marina Nemat finally allowed herself to break down. It was a few hours after her mother’s burial. Nemat sat down beside her grieving father and began to say some words of comfort. Before she had a chance, her dad swivelled to face her. “Your mother forgave you before she died,” he told her.

Nemat understood. Her mom had always blamed her for going to prison in Iran years ago and making the family suffer before coming to Canada. Nemat’s reaction was visceral. Since her discharge from Evin Prison 16 years earlier, she had never felt fury. But the dam had broken.

“Suddenly I felt this tsunami of anger just rising in my chest until I thought I would vomit,” says Nemat. She began to respond, but she was way beyond words. “What came out of my mouth was a horrific, blood-curdling scream.” She couldn’t breathe, so she ran into the yard. And collapsed. That’s when she finally faced the hard truth. “I realized I couldn’t live the charade that everything was normal. I was not OK.”

Before her imprisonment, Nemat had been a feisty teenager who pulsed with power. “I was a loudmouth,” she says. She swam in the Caspian Sea in the moonlight, danced to the Bee Gees and flirted with boys. But she possessed a deeper side as well. Though her parents mostly talked of mundane things like the weather, gardening and food, she pushed back by tackling serious issues. “I decided to go against what I learned, which was a big body of silence,” she says.

It was this strident spirit that landed her in deep trouble during the Iranian Revolution of l979, when 16-year-old Nemat whirled from naive youngster to socially aware citizen.

“After the revolution, the meaning of cool changed from wearing the nicest dress to reading books on social justice,” she says. Then one day she went too far. She challenged her calculus teacher to teach math instead of propaganda. A few weeks later there was a knock on the door and two guards stuffed her in a car and locked her away.

Nemat’s brain was shackled along with her body. When she was dragged into the torture room, she felt disconnected from her physical being. She observed her feet being lashed with cables, felt the pain, but no accompanying emotion. And though she suffered through the execution of her friends, was raped repeatedly and had to face a firing squad, she never panicked. “I was ridiculously calm — like I was in a coma, “she says. It was only much later, after talking to a psychiatrist, that she would understand that the numbness was a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder, and protected her from an unbearable reality.

Though Nemat was released from the penitentiary in 1984, her mind remained under lock and key. Nobody ever asked her about it. At her first dinner home, the family talked about the weather. “Prison could not be named, because mentioning it meant opening a can of worms,” she says. Instead, her family hinted that she had to move on. An emotionally paralyzed Nemat played along, stuffing her unresolved agony even further into oblivion.

Fleeing to Canada

When Nemat, her husband and their toddler fled to the safety of Canada in 1991, she appeared to adapt seamlessly to her new home. “I looked and acted normal,” she says. She was fluent in English and found work quickly at Swiss Chalet. Nemat gave birth to a second son and was a dedicated homemaker. “I walked my children to school, cleaned the house and provided home-cooked meals every day,” says Nemat, whose parents later followed to Canada. She dressed well, styled her hair elegantly and never confronted anyone. But she felt empty inside. “I was a perfect robot.”

Nemat’s breakdown after her mother’s funeral marked the moment when that false façade was shattered, and the suffering she hid away years ago came rushing back. It felt as though her heart had died and been shocked back to life. “It was the moment I came alive.”

But becoming fully human again was tough. “When the leg falls asleep and then blood returns, you’re in tremendous pain,” she says. The same thing happens to the mind. When the numbness wears off, you’re no longer protected from unpleasant sensations. Nemat developed chest pains, nightmares and hallucinations of her mother wrapped in a shroud.

Prisoner of Tehran

That’s when she began writing her memoir, Prisoner of Tehran, which was published in 2007. She poured all her misery onto its pages, recounting her forced marriage to her prison guard, who died protecting her from a bullet. Writing helped Nemat to process the raw recollections that rose to the surface as her brain thawed out. “When you create order out of chaos, it helps you deal with it,” she says. The book received the “Human Dignity” prize from the European parliament.

As Nemat came to terms with her past, she rebuilt an authentic life. While her relationship with her husband, who was unaware of her first marriage, had been based on a lie, they grew closer after he read her book. Emotionally bonded to the world, Nemat recovered her old vitality. As her book was published in 29 countries, she began travelling around the globe to talk about her life and to bear witness to human rights abuses of others. “Suddenly I had become visible as the person I really was, not as the person the world wanted me to be,” says Nemat, who wrote a sequel, After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed in 2010.

Helping others closes Nemat’s own wounds. “Activism helps me to feel that what happened to me will make the world a better place,” she says. One of Nemat’s most satisfying cases was that of Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, an Iranian-Canadian shoe salesman who was also incarcerated in Evin. Nemat lobbied the Canadian government to help and accompanied his wife, Antonella Mega, to the U.K. and Italy to campaign for his release. Their hard work paid off.

Mega invited Nemat to Toronto Pearson International Airport to meet Ghassemi-Shall when he returned to Canada in 2013. “When someone actually comes home, we celebrate and it’s a reminder that what we do is not useless,” says Nemat.

Memoir writing at University of Toronto

Nemat also contributes her expertise in the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies, where she teaches memoir writing. Nemat discovered she was good at helping others tell their own sensitive stories. “It is tremendously rewarding,” she says.

Today, Nemat is unstoppable. “My life and vocation is to make trouble when I see injustice,” she says. She sits on the board of directors at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, an organization that provides advocacy, trauma counselling and settlement services for victims of torture, genocide and war. She is also the chair of the writers in exile committee at PEN Canada, a group that aids writers who come to Canada as refugees after suffering persecution in their countries. As well, Nemat works with her church to welcome newcomers to Canada.

“I’m extremely engaged — if I take on something, I get it done.”

]]>0Margaret Jetelinahttp://www.canadianimmigrant.cahttp://canadianimmigrant.ca/?p=347942016-12-01T03:18:53Z2016-12-01T03:07:55ZWhen driving in Canada’s often-harsh climate, having a good set of tires can be one of your most important safety features. Quality tires with good tread help improve traction and reduce stopping distances on slippery, icy or snow-covered roads. Tires that are worn or bald can more easily become flat or cause you to skid out of control.

Choose a tire

There are three main types of tires, and, for Canadian driving conditions, you may need more than one type.

1. All-season tires

Conditions: Warm, dry and mild wet conditions, best in spring, summer and fall

Most new vehicles come standard with all-season tires. But despite their name, they are really not ideal for every season in Canada — they are more of a “three-season” tire. If it is below seven degrees Celsius, all-season tires begin to harden and lose adhesion with the road. They are not effective in harsher conditions like snow or slush, which can clog their tread pattern, creating a slippery surface. So it’s best to invest in some all-weather or winter tires, too.

2. All-weather tires

Conditions: Good all year, including formild winter conditions, heavy rain and light snowfall

These tires have tread designs and rubber compounds that are safe in changing weather conditions, from summer to winter. A true four-season tire, they reduce the need for costly seasonal tire changeovers.

3. Winter tires

Conditions: Harsh winter conditions and snow

Having proper winter tires in parts of Canada where it snows and temperatures drop to below freezing is a smart thing to do. They are designed to stay soft in cold weather for better grip on the snow. For extreme winter conditions, including black ice, you can get studded winter tires or buy chains to add to your tires, especially when driving up mountainous roads.

Changing a flat

You have a flat tire! What should you do? If you have roadside assistance, you can call and wait safely in your vehicle for help to arrive. If you want to change the tire yourself, here are some quick tips.

If you are not already parked, find a safe spot to pull over. If you get a flat tire while on the highway, try to take the next exit or pull over as far onto the shoulder of the road as possible.

Turn on your hazard lights and be sure to set your parking brake.

Be extremely careful when outside your vehicle so you aren’t in danger of being hit by a passing car.

Get your jack, wrench and spare tire from your trunk.

Loosen the lug nuts by turning the wrench to the left (counter-clockwise). You might need to remove the hubcap.

Use the jack to lift the vehicle off the ground. Check your owner’s manual for details on where to put the jack for your specific make and model.

Once the jack is secured, jack up the car until the tire is about six inches off the ground.

Remove the lug nuts (keeping them together and safe!) and pull the tire off the car toward you to remove it from the wheel base.

Put the spare tire on, pushing it all the way onto the wheel base. Put the lug nuts on securely, but not too tight.

Lower the car back to the ground and remove the jack from underneath.

Tighten the lug nuts.

Put your flat tire and tools back in your trunk, and drive safely home or the nearest tire shop.